On Wednesday, March 16, 2011, H.I.M. Emperor Akihito of Japan made a rare appearance on Japanese national television to share his thoughts and concerns about the aftermath of last week’s 9.0 earthquake and destructive tsunami that followed.

According to the BBC News:

TV stations interrupted programming on Wednesday to show the emperor describing the crisis facing the nation as “unprecedented in scale”.

The 77-year-old – deeply respected by many Japanese – said: “I hope from the bottom of my heart that the people will, hand in hand, treat each other with compassion and overcome these difficult times.”

To watch Emperor Akihito’s speech via the BBC please click the link: BBC News

Photo courtesy of: Zimbio.com by Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images AsiaPac